


Rewrite the Stars

by flanneldaddy



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Gay Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s), Out of Character Bella Swan, Romance, Sapphic Obliviousness, Slow Burn, Vampires, alice cullen deserved better, meaning she's got character, the main character is damage control
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2019-10-10 06:46:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17421065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flanneldaddy/pseuds/flanneldaddy
Summary: Gabriel Chapman found solace in Forks, Washington, away from her parents, away from toxic expectations. Coming out in such a small town meant social suicide, but one girl took a shine to her, one peculiar Alice Cullen. They're inseparable, but a sudden turn in affection for Alice leaves Gabe helpless. Just as she's putting a name to how she feels, things begin to unravel not too long after childhood best friend, Bella Swan's arrival. Suddenly Gabe doesn't have excuses for why Alice is always cold, why she never eats, and why her eyes change color. Suddenly she can't figure out why Alice always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Suddenly she's thrust into a world she's not ready for, one that could kill her.





	1. Routine

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! My name is Ari, and welcome to my fanfic! I've taken a few liberties with this piece. It's set in modern times, meaning within this decade (hence the nods to popular social media platforms), and Bella Swan has a bit more personality. I'm doing what I can to stay true to the characters within how I see them, so I hope you enjoy my renditions of these beloved characters. I'll do my best to do them justice.  
> Fair warning, Gabe is something of a self-insert character, as I've had a thing for Alice from day one. I wanted to try my hand at writing a SI for a while, but please don't come bashing it simply because it's a self-insert piece. They're not for everyone, and I respect that.  
> I think that takes care of everything! Please leave some feedback if you'd like, I'd love to know what you all think. So without further ado, enjoy!

“Good morning, Forks! It’s  _ another _ cloudy day this Monday morning, surprise surprise! I’m Jimmy Barclay here with your favorite radio station, Forks 99.1. We’re gonna start out with the weather, then move rightー” 

My hand reached out to quiet the obnoxious baritone resonating from my nightstand. I found the primitive piece of technology with ease, turned it off, then rolled over, counting the precious seconds before I’d finally have to get up. 

_ One… _ I could hear my aunt scrambling downstairs, boots stomping against the wooden floor.

_ Two… _ The smell of bacon wafted up into my nose and further pulled me from my sleepy stupor.

On the third second, I finally rose from fetal position, ignoring my warm bed as it beckoned me return. After running  a hand down my face, I pulled my phone from the charger and opened Facebook, keeping my text messages for later. A few minutes to check my ever-waning social life never hurt.

“Spoke too fuckin’ soon…” I grumbled as I blocked yet  _ another _ fellow Forks High student. Matt O’Reilly, senior and member of the varsity football team, was no stranger to harassing me. After coming out as gay my sophomore year, he’d wasted no time making my life a living hell. Chasing me through the hallways, stealing my gym clothes, and following me home were only a few of the colorful ways he’d assert his insecure masculinity. Now I could add “ _ See you after gym, fag, _ ” to the ever-growing repertoire. 

The trek through Facebook wasn’t all bad, however. There was one message from my childhood best friend, Bella Swan, left unread. For memory’s sake, I took a moment to scroll through our recent chat history:

B:  _ Charlie just picked me up in his cruiser. End me. _

G:  _ Lol what’s wrong with the cruiser? _

B:  _ Nothing slows down traffic like a cop. _

G:  _ Good point! Do you have an idea of what car you want yet? _

B:  _ Anything that runs is fine with me. Oh, and it needs to have character. _

G:  _ Character? As in a dent in the fender? _

B:  _ Maybe, yeah! _

G:  _ I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for ya :) _

B:  _ Finally home. _

G:  _ Great, welcome home!  _

B:  _ Did you still want to do dinner? _

G:  _ Definitely! I’ll swing by at 6:30 :) _

B:  _ Thanks for tonight :) it’s nice to know at least one person. _

G:  _ Anytime, Bells! I’m always here for ya _

B:  _ Same to you. _

B:  _ Hey, would you mind helping me figure out how to get to my classes today? _

 

I smiled to myself, the insulting message already forgotten. Bella was one of few people who got me, who remained my friend after my coming out. When some of my friends blocked me, she remained, accepting and happy for me. She wasn’t a very talkative person, but there wasn’t really a need for conversation. More often than not, her company was enough. I was grateful for Bella, and I hope she knew that. 

I quickly typed my reply before heading off to shower:  _ Sure! Meet me in the parking lot? _

Living with my aunt had its perks. For example, she let me drink beer so long as she was aware, and I had my own bathroom. The latter was a godsend in the mornings. 

After removing my shirt, I took a moment to stare at myself in the mirror. My face had become more angular over the years, the “Chapman jaw” as my aunt coined it, since strong jawlines ran in our family. To my delight it  amplified my androgyny, and I relished in the knowledge that it made me look older than seventeen. Pride wasn’t a word I threw around often, but I was proud of my features.

After taking another moment to talk myself up for the day in the mirror, I allowed myself a long shower before getting dressed for the day. Somehow I made it down the stairs in record time, that or my aunt was running late. I wasn’t known for my proactivity in the mornings, and my aunt wasn’t famous for her promptness, so it left few options. 

I paused at the foot of the stairs to watch her, not bothering to hide my amusement. Her hair was up in its usual tight bun, and she already donned her uniform. She held her toothbrush between her teeth and scrambled around the kitchen as if she was on fire. 

Yep, she was definitely running late. 

“Morning, Kelly,” I hummed as I joined her. I’d be more perturbed by the small space if we didn’t have any semblance of rhythm. We moved around each other with the same ease we’d had for years. 

“Morning. Breakfast. Stove,” she mumbled after slamming the fridge door shut. “Damn, where is the fucking  _ bread _ ?!”

I snickered, “What for?”

“For my  _ goddamn _ sandwich!”

The spectacle of her scrambling about the kitchen was incredibly amusing. Kelly was usually frantic in the mornings. Maybe she couldn’t find her other boot or forgot her wallet somewhere, but it usually wasn’t as bad as today. I chose then to mention the lunch I’d made and left in the fridge for her last night.

“Wait what?”

“Yeah,” I nudged my head toward the fridge. “Second shelf, behind the mayo.”

Kelly paused for a moment, dropped her toothbrush in the sink, and then returned to the fridge. She rummaged around on the second shelf, nearly throwing the mayonnaise, to pull out the large, brown paper bag. 

“Well, I’ll be damned…” she gruffed out while sifting through its contents. Her attention fell to her watch, only for a slew of curses to fall from her mouth. “Shit!  Mother _ bitch _ , I'm late,” her exclamation came as her scrambling continued. Before she left, she walked over and kissed my head. “Love you, don’t do anything that I’d have to arrest you for!”

“Mkay, Deputy Chief Chapman,” my reply came as I munched on my bacon.

She was hollering something behind her about going to Charlie Swan’s place after work, but it all got muffled behind the closed door. The engine of her car revved to life, and it was only a few moments before she drove off. It was quiet again, a rare find. After giving myself a few more minutes to mentally prepare for the day, I brought my plate to the sink. The buzz from my phone brought me from my daydream about never having to wash plates.

“Wonder who that could be,” I mused, tilting my phone up. The goofy grin that curled across my face left my cheeks feeling numb.

_ Good morning, sleepyhead. Sleep well? X _

Alice Cullen. My math partner and admittedly my only friend besides Bella. She was probably the sweetest person in this whole town, but everyone deemed her and her siblings “weird.” Maybe that's why I get on with her so well? 

I bit my lip to contain my excitement. She always finished her texts to me with an “ _ X _ ,” and to my knowledge, I was the only person she did that for. Not that I was purposefully watching as she texted people; hell, sometimes she wouldn't hide her text conversations from me or insist I read them to get a second opinion. Nevertheless, the “ _ X _ ” felt special, and I held onto that feeling as I typed and retyped my response.

_ Morning, early bird. I slept pretty well, despite having fallen asleep doing the math hw lol. How ‘bout you? _

I waited a beat and then continued typing, racing the gray bubble that meant she was typing too. 

_ But I can't complain too much. I had a dream about you :p _

The gray bubble disappeared, and my heart sank on reflex. I busied myself checking my bookbag one last time until I got a reply seconds later.

_ Oh? What happened? I bet I was schooling you, as always ;) _

My ears burned red as I thought about the rather adult dream I had last night. Thoughts drifted to what details I could remember, how real it almost felt. Shit, now I've got to tell my math partner that I had a suggestive dream about her. How do I even go about that? “Hey, Alice, I totally had a wet dream about you last night. I was doing math, and you were doing me. So how was your weekend?” Yeah, right… Maybe I shouldn't have said anything? 

My blush continued to trail down my neck as I responded. 

_ You sure were! _

After one last check of my person, I swung my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my keys, and headed out the door. The air smelled of fresh rain but despite the gloomy sky, I felt good about today. I took a moment to cling to that positive feeling then got another text while locking the door.

_ Naturally. But what happened?? Now I'm curious X _

Well, fuck.

I mulled over how to word my response as I got in my car, a used, dark green CR-V. It had been a gift from Kelly when I moved in with her.  _ “There,” _ Kelly had said,  _ “now you don’t have to ask anyone to give you rides… Anyone being  _ me _ , that is.”  _ It had probably been the nicest gift I’d been given at that point, and it cemented Kelly’s place in my heart. My car might not be much to look at, but she was perfect for me.

_ Wouldn’t you like to know :p _

Nothing wrong with a little suspense. If she remembered- and I had the courage- I’d just make something up in class, maybe try anatomy? Sounded easy enough. She texted me again, but I’d already pulled out of my driveway.

Grey clouds tumbled overhead with promising rain, the sight of which put me at ease. Rain was a near constant here. A persistent cover of rain in a small town bordered by forest seemed like paradise when I first moved here.  Now the streets reeked of prejudice that not even the rain could wash away . 

The drive to Forks High was barely that. The most exciting part of my commute was getting to see which quirky bumper sticker I’d groan at that day. It only took five minutes, and it was easy enough to find a parking space. Just as I’d asked, Bella was waiting by her truck. She had her nose stuck in a book, earbuds no doubt blaring some band I couldn’t name. It amazed me how easily she drowned people out. If she wanted, she could probably stand in the middle of New York City on New Years’ Eve and lose herself in a book. Maybe one of these days I’ll ask her what her secret was.

“Morning, Bells,” I greeted, “Ready to go?”

We set off at her nod. Her schedule was easy enough to follow, and I wrote down on the map the shortcuts I knew, crossed out inevitably crowded halls that she should avoid and so on. We had first and last period together, which meant I didn’t have to suffer through English and Gym alone anymore. I tried to downplay my excitement as best I could, but Bella caught the little dance I did upon reading her schedule.  _ “You dork,” _ she’d chuckled. By the time we were done, we had time to kill. 

“We’ve circled this campus twice. Almost everyone’s staring,” Bella shrunk in on herself as she sat across from me. She and I rested in the bed of her truck, legs tangled together. Her cheeks were rosy from the chill and attention, though the latter seemed more at fault. She was beautiful when she blushed.

Bella caught me staring and gently nudged my knee. “Stop that,” she muttered shyly.

“Stop what?” I tilted my head to the side as I spoke. Her face grew redder under my gaze, and a smile tugged at my lips in turn. 

“ _ That _ ! That thing you’re doing with your eyes--”

“You mean  _ looking _ at you?”

“Yes,” she threw a pencil at me, fighting the grin that came to her face, “now  _ everyone _ is definitely staring at me.”

I deftly caught the pencil and tossed it back. To offer her a reprieve, I turned my attention to the parking lot. Groups of students lingered and milled about the lot, many of which were caught up watching us. They’d try to act so disinterested when I’d catch them staring; I bet they thought I was going to eat the shiny new toy alive. Adorable.

I spotted Angela, Mike, Jessica, and some other groupies I didn’t know the names of by Mike’s car. It was Mike who I saw first, as he’d been one of the ones watching. Mike had this bug-eyed look to his face, and he didn’t bother looking away when I first locked eyes with him. The obvious staring made my jaw clench. Mike Newton had been an acquaintance of mine last year, but coming out seemed to have driven a wedge in our forgettable friendship. Everything I did, even  _ breathing _ , seemed to make him uncomfortable. I relished in it.  

He only broke eye contact when Jessica called for him. Jessica Stanley wasn’t much better about her blatant unease, but at least she had enough sense to know when to stay quiet about it. She and I had been close sophomore year, and it had hurt to lose her as a friend but only briefly. Now all she can do is make goo goo eyes at boys who never give her the time of day; I almost feel sorry for her.

Angela was a good one. She and I had Government together, and I quite enjoyed her company. She reminded me of Bella at times with how quiet and studious she was. It was part of why I appreciated her so much. She played the mediator when things between Mike and I got heated, and sometimes I felt bad because of it. Seeing him and I fight must get old, I’m sure; however, she never batted an eye, and for that I was grateful.

“Who are they?” Bella asked, following my eyes, “Friends of yours?”

“Angela-- the tall one-- is a friend. The others? Not so much…”

“That blonde boy really likes to stare at you, doesn’t he?”

My mouth had opened, snide comment at the ready to tumble forward, when I felt a familiar tingle at the back of my neck. My heart fluttered in that moment, registering the pull before my mind could. There was only one person that triggered such a response, and it took a split second of eager searching to find her. 

She waited patiently by her sister’s convertible, dark eyes trained on mine. Something had made her giggle, presumably how silly I must’ve looked. Nevertheless, I smiled and waved, and she returned the action in kind, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. 

“Is that your Alice friend? Alice Cullen, right?” Bella asked. Her inquiry made me jump. I’d gotten so caught up that I’d forgotten Bella was there, forgotten everyone  _ else _ was there… I should really be more perceptive.

I chose to ignore Bella’s snickering and respond, “Yeah, that’s Alice. I have math with her.”

Alice Cullen looked as perfect and put together as she always did. Her outfit naturally put everyone else to shame, and her inky black hair stuck out in all directions, framing her face nicely. Those pretty eyes met mine again, though I only just noticed how dark they were today. I didn’t dwell on it much, chalking it up to subpar lighting. I mouthed a “good morning,” and the wink she gave in return made my heart flutter again. It’s as if my irritation with Mike no longer existed, and I’d all but forgotten about the faceless crowd.

Something in the foreground was nagging at me, trying to vie for my attention, but I was stuck there in that space with just Alice. It was a natural lull, a barrier my mind put up whenever she was nearby. We could be hanging out anywhere, and I wouldn’t be able to recall much of anything besides her. She just had that effect on people, I suppose. She was just so… _ so... _

“Captivating?”

“ _ Jesus _ \--” I flinched with a start and turned so fast to look at Bella that I gave myself whiplash. “You startled the shit outta me…”

“How?! I’ve been trying to get your attention for five minutes,” Bella scoffed. She went to grab for her backpack then stopped. Her eyes glanced from me, to Alice, then back to me, brow furrowed in thought. “Huh…”

“What?”

“Nothing,” a lie. She slapped at my knee before she hopped unceremoniously from the truck bed. Watching her perform such an action sent my heart racing. The  _ last _ thing I needed was for my clumsy best friend to sprain her ankle on her first day. “C’mon, our advisory period is about to start.”

I followed suit with a huff, checking the time on my phone in disbelief once I was out of the truck bed. Time just seemed to move so quickly earlier… Looking up to where I saw Alice, I was only met with disappointment. She’d disappeared. I tried to stifle the frown that tried to find purchase on my face. I'd see her later, so there was no reason to get upset... At least that's what I tried to tell myself, anyway. 

As I followed Bella into the main building, ducking past people as I went, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I stepped off to the side to read the new message.

_ See you in class. X _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that for a first chapter? Thank you all again for reading! Please comment and let me know what you think so far. I'd really appreciate it. Have a good one!


	2. A Choice in Bedfellows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but thank you all for being so patient. Hope you enjoy!

Advisory went by in a blur, and in no time I found myself sitting in English class. Bella took the seat to my left, and another acquaintance, Eric Yorkie, bolted in and sat down  _ just _ before the bell rang. The glower Mr. French gave him was met with a brief, apologetic nod and nothing more. 

Mr. French had a knack for droning on about the unrelated and unnecessary. We’d be talking about F. Scott Fitzgerald one moment and in the next somehow questioning capitalism at its core. 

“Social security is bullshit,” he said, now perched on an absent student’s desk. “The idea is foolproof, but in practice? A complete disaster, much like communism.”

“Is he always like this?” Bella had leaned over to whisper. “Should I be taking notes on this or something?” The poor thing was actually trying to keep up with him, bless her heart. I’d forgotten to clue her in on futile notetaking in this class. Her copy of  _ The Great Gatsby _ laid unbothered at the corner of her desk; I probably should’ve told her not to buy it. 

“Yeah, we sorta just let him ramble until the bell. I wouldn’t bother taking notes, it’s all nonsense.” I stifled a snicker at the sheer resignation on her face. She’d christened a perfectly good composition notebook by writing  _ pages  _ of notes in her bout to keep pace. I could see her contemplating being a good student or accepting her fate, so to alleviate her indecisiveness, I reached over with my pencil and scribbled on her page.

_ Don’t stress out about it.  _

_ It’s only your first day. Take a deep breath, nerd <3 _

She looked up at me and snorted, “Easy for you to say.”

“I’ve been through the ringer already,” I winked. “Just tryna save you from carpal tunnel.”

French decided that he’d gone too far with his diatribe, and to repay us, he gave us the rest of the period to do “busy work,” a fancy term that meant we got to do absolutely nothing. I think teachers used that term in an attempt to make themselves feel better. I’m not sure if it worked, though.

After I convinced Bella to put her things away and  _ relax _ about her notes, I took another quick glance at her schedule and thought it best to warn her about some of the other teachers she had. “Jefferson is a bit anal, but everything you need to know for tests are in the notes. I’ve never had Mr. Varner, but I’ve heard he’s decent. Mrs. Goff is cool, she makes up these games and has candies from Latin countries to hand out. Mr. Banner is super eccentric, so if you’re into that, you’ll have a blast--”

“Oh, you have Banner, too?” Eric left his conversation with another student to scooch his desk a little closer, dark eyes curious under a mess of greasy hair. 

Eric was as harmless as guys go. He had a habit of trying too hard to gain and keep people’s attention, but other than that he was okay. His collection of Magic: The Gathering cards was a bit too extensive for my tastes, but who am I to judge? He wasn’t one to either, which made him solid in my book. Yorkie never treated me any differently after sophomore year. If anything, our relations had improved, so much so that I’d occasionally given him advice about girls.

I’d opened my mouth to introduce the two, but, as I predicted, it wasn’t necessary. “You’re Isabella, right?”

Bella tensed a little at the use of her full name, hiding her cringe behind a smile. “Just Bella. And you are?”

“I’m Eric, the eyes and ears of this place--”

“For who? Your gaming club?” I snickered, leaning back in my desk. He shot me a scowl, but afterward only had eyes for Bella. The way he looked at her betrayed his obvious interest. I couldn’t blame him too much; Bella’s great, but she was still my best friend, so watching Eric hum with attraction was uncomfortable to say the least.

Eric didn’t bother responding to my quip. Instead, he chose to broach a different topic entirely. “So, how long have you two known each other?”

“Oh, gosh, um…” Bella pursed her lips in thought.

“I think from the time we were...six?” I said, hazarding a guess. “Her dad and my aunt are close, so I’d spend a lot of time with her when she vacationed here for the summer. Then we’d stay in touch when she was away.” Bella and I had quickly become close friends when we were little. Her quiet, daydreamer nature complimented my wild imagination quite well, and so a bond was formed. Though it’s not like we had much of a choice. Charlie Swan, her father, and Kelly used us as an excuse to spend more time together. Not that they needed much of one, they were grown adults, but a hosted playdate sounded a lot cuter than watching sports, drinking beer, and awkwardly flirting with one another— if you could call it that.

My parents had lived right up the street from Charlie and Kelly, so it was a quick bike ride to spend time with Bells. Even after my parents decided to make the move to Seattle, I got to spend summers with Kelly, and subsequently Bella, for quite a few years. I didn’t realize how desperately I needed the getaway from my parents until Bella stopped spending summers in Forks. At the time it felt like betrayal. It was the summer before my freshman year, and I’d just begun recovering from what had to have been the most harrowing few months of my life to date. Between my parents finding out I was gay, them threatening to disown me if I didn’t attend conversion therapy, and Kelly taking me in, all I wanted was to spend a few months with the one person who  _ got _ me. I’ll admit, I was in a really rough spot when Bella told me she wasn’t going to summer in Forks any longer, so hearing her say that just sort of left me feeling numb. Charlie had extended an invitation for me to join them in California, but I never wanted to impose on their time together. 

“Cool! So I heard you’re from Arizona,” Eric hadn’t even bothered to look at me. He was practically stretching over my desk to speak to her, and it irked me more than it should have. In a petty attempt to reclaim my personal space, I leaned my torso on my desk, swiveled my back toward him, and playfully winked at Bella. Her ears grew an adorable shade of pink, though she tried pulling up her hood to hide it.

“Yeah, Bells, what’s the sun like?” I emphasized my question by leaning farther along my desk, effectively shoving Eric off and forming a wall between the two. “I hear Arizonans know a lot about personal space. Must be nice, huh?”

Eric seemed to have gotten the message because he  _ finally _ leaned away, but I could feel the scowl at my back, practically  _ see _ him opening and closing his mouth while he figured out what to say. Bella’s whole face had gone rosy by then. No doubt she wanted to melt into the floor through to the classroom below, but that would leave her in the middle of a sophomore math class. She caught me stifling a snicker, flipped me off, then buried her nose in her book.

“What the hell, Chapman?” Yorkie scowled and had the nerve to actually be offended. “I was just trying to talk to the new kid.”

I took a deep breath in, centering myself, before I turned to speak to him. Pettiness stung at the back of my head, lacing my words, “I’m not sure how long you’ve been in the public school system, Eric, but  _ this _ —“ I gestured to the no doubt contaminated desk before me, “—is all the personal space I have. I get it, Bella’s great, but how about talking to her from where you are?”

For a moment he stared at his own desk, contemplating my words. The wheels in his head turned with a problem I couldn’t quite grasp, and he shrunk in his chair once the message sank in, shoulders slumping. I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him. He wasn’t an asshole by any stretch of the word; he was a decent kid, he just...wasn’t too proficient with social cues. The sting from before fell off into numbing guilt, so I threw him a bone. 

“Just,” honestly, I wasn’t sure how to mend things, but a light bulb sparked to life during my fumbling, “one second.” My attention then turned to Bella where I reached out a hand to tap her shoulder. Her head tilted in my direction, but her eyes stayed glued to  _ Gatsby _ , brows raising in half acknowledgement. Something about the motion was so overwhelmingly familiar and homey that it took me a second to put my finger on. It was such a  _ Bella  _ thing to do, so titular, so engrained in her character that I no doubt overlooked it until now. She’d done that  _ countless _ times in the years that I’ve known her, so much so that I’d only stopped to appreciate it now.

“Gosh, I missed you so much,” the words left my mouth before I could stop them. They caused her enough pause to finally lift her gaze and give me an endearing smile, one that made her brown eyes grow soft.

With the lingering blush dusting her cheeks, she reached out and gave my hand a squeeze. “Gabe,” she began, “you are  _ such  _ a sap! But I missed you too.”

I basked in the warmth of her words until the sharp bell jolted me from my reverie. The noise came sooner than I expected, perhaps due to the time lost to Mr. French’s monologuing, and brought my “Make Eric a Friend” plan to a screeching halt. “Tomorrow we’ll continue this,” I promised him before hurrying to walk Bella to her next class. I could hear him shouting for me, but the noise simply melted into the din reverberating through the halls.

By some miracle, I made it from Building 2 to Building 6 with enough time. The halls were near empty, save for a few stragglers, and as I neared my classroom, the exhaustion of all that walking finally caught up to me.  Everything within peripheral seemed to fade out of existence, resulting in me failing to notice the foot that had reached out to trip me. I was sorely unprepared for impact; my head hit the floor with a dull thud, and the pain erupted into an immediate headache. The precious air from my lungs escaped with a wheeze, my vision doubling sickeningly.

“Aw, did the dyke fall down?” the voice was familiar. 

I peered through the haze to see Matt O’Reilly sneering down at me through jagged teeth and a mop of dark hair. Flanking him were his best wide receiver and running back, Nathan Watts and Joseph Thomas. Sometimes I didn’t believe that they enjoyed terrorizing people and asserting what mock dominance they thought they had. Doubt passed across Thomas’s face, speaking volumes toward his inner conflict. I knew him; he and I lived next door to each other for years before the move to Seattle. He was a good kid, and I would’ve felt sorry for him if he wasn’t allowing this to happen.

“Really, Matt?” A booming voice echoed from behind me. I slowly lifted my pounding head and turned to watch Emmett Cullen’s hulking frame saunter closer. His burly body blocked out the light, casting him in shadow. Though he and I were familiar, the menacing effect left a shiver traveling down my spine. I had to swallow the knee-jerk reaction to run.  _ ‘Emmett is here to protect me,’ _ the rational side of my brain reassured,  _ ‘There’s no need to be afraid of him.’ _ But there was  _ something _ in those honey eyes that made me feel incredibly small and made him look just as dangerous. 

“She’s gonna be late to class! You don’t wanna be  _ why _ she’s late, right?” He held their gazes one after the other and kept Matt’s as he knelt down and offered a large hand to help me up. I took it gratefully, knees wobbling with my full weight, but before I could stumble backwards, his chilly arm was at my back to steady me. Despite the initial fear, his imposing frame brought immediate comfort, his dimpled smile was a welcome sight. 

There weren’t many people that could make Matt O’Reilly seem small, but the star quarterback, as built as he was, seemed minuscule compared to Emmett. The quarterback seemed to notice it himself in the way his body language shifted defensively. “Because I’d hate to see what happens if she got that tardy on her record…” Emmett sighed, hooking his arm around me in a hug. 

The veiled threat took him off guard, so much so that he spent a few moments contemplating what the best course of action was. Watts swatted at his arm to snap him out of it, muttering a “let’s go man!” under his breath.

“Nope, nah, I’m-I’m good…” Matt mumbled once he’d been brought from his stupor, backing away and pulling his friends with him. Emmett gave a “shoo” motion and chuckled when the football players begrudgingly scampered to their class without so much as a glance.

“Thanks for that,” I sighed with relief, “you got here just in the nick of time.” It was fortunate that Emmett arrived when he did. The encounter could’ve gone a lot differently had he not been there. I imagine I would’ve walked away from Matt with more than just sore knees and a headache.

He nodded and shrugged, his smile never waning, “Not a problem. Gotta keep my sister’s favorite safe from Curly, Larry, and Moe.” 

Ah, here was the Emmett Cullen I knew, all muscles and jokes. He was one of Alice’s older brothers and an absolute goofball, but it’s a wonder he’s dating someone as reserved and poised as Rosalie Hale. When I first met him, like most, I was intimidated. Not only was he a senior and at the top of the food chain, he’s  _ ridiculously  _ huge. I remember making myself laugh thinking of someone slipping steroids into his Frosted Flakes.  _ “Don’t let Emmett scare you,” _ Alice had said,  _ “he’s just a freakishly big child.” _ It was a lesson I learned rather quickly. Underneath the looming exterior and heavy brow was a loveable guy who just happened to look like he could crush you. Spending time at the Cullen house was never a dull moment with Emmett around.

The shock on my face made him laugh, “I-I’m Alice’s favorite?” No doubt he noticed my ears growing bright red as well.

“No, you’re Rosalie’s,” he grinned, “of  _ course _ you’re Al’s favorite. She never shuts up about you. It’s a bit annoying, actually.” 

I stood there a bit dumbfounded. I was Alice’s favorite? Since when? What does that  _ mean _ exactly? When he noticed I wasn’t likely to move, he patted me on the back and nudged me toward my classroom. “You gonna be alright in class?” 

At my nod he continued, “Good! Stay safe, Gabe, and try not to get yourself into trouble?” With a wink and a wave of his hand, he turned back the way he came, and I made it to class seconds before the bell.

Physics passed without issue, other than the splitting headache. Ben Cheney makes a decent lab partner, even if I had to carry most of the weight. Physics was my favorite science. Bella used to tease me about my professed love for the subject, saying,  _ “If you become an actual rocket scientist, you’re building me a jetpack.”  _

_ “And what’ll you do with a jetpack?” _

_ Her answer was the same every time, but it never failed to make me smile, “Dismantle the establishment and skip the line to buy books, duh.”  _

Ben and I finished the lab relatively quickly, which left me with too much time to ruminate on Alice’s words. I was her favorite, according to Emmett, which I guess I understood. I’ve seen her interact with few other students, and I didn’t know of anyone else having sleepovers with her. Or maybe I was just reading into it too much. Perhaps it meant nothing?

All the speculation was making my headache worse, so I spared myself the pain and chose to check on Bella instead.

G:  _ How’s gov goin? _

B:  _ You weren’t kidding about Jefferson being anal. That Mike Newton won’t leave me alone, and there’s a guy who keeps looking at me. _

G: _ Keeps looking at you? Like how? _

B: _ Like I’ve offended him. I think his name is Edward. _

Oh, boy. 

G:  _ Is he really tall, bronze hair, looks like he hasn’t slept in a week? _

Bella never responded, I imagine due to Jefferson’s “no phone” policy, but I was dying to learn if it was indeed Edward Cullen. Edward was Alice’s second brother. He was much quieter,  _ much _ skinnier than Emmett, and always seemed to be in his own thoughts. I wasn’t as familiar with him as I was with Emmett, but his politeness spoke volumes toward his kindness. He would make a few good quips whenever he was around, so he was solid in my book.

Spanish with Mike Newton was survivable. I only let him speak to me if it was in Spanish because he wasn’t as dedicated to the language as I was. He didn’t know many of the words needed to formulate the sentences he wanted to ask, which meant he left me alone. Government with Angela was a breeze, uneventful as ever, so when the bell rang, I practically bolted to lunch, ducking and weaving through people to get to the cafeteria. Bella was standing off to the side reading a book, completely oblivious to the world around her. I took advantage of her unsuspecting peace, running forward and wrapping my arms around her from behind, “ There you are!”

“Jesus  _ fucking _ -” Bella jumped, nearly dropping her copy of  _ Gatsby _ . “You startled the  _ shit  _ out of me!”

“I know,” I grinned, “you make it so easy.” 

She squirmed out of my arms, gave a huff, and made to smack at me with the book. The impact did little to dampen my spirits. I was too caught up in soaking in my victory. When she had her fill, she reached out, grabbed my arm, and pulled me close. “Okay, so-”

“Hey, Isabella!” Before she could go on about Edward, Mike Newton jogged up, Eric Yorkie close behind. Mike looked at her like a lovesick golden retriever, and I could feel the distaste for him coming off of Bella in waves. Clearly something had happened in Government to leave a bad taste in her mouth. It was only a matter of time before I found out, but I made a mental note to ask her about it later, just in case.

Bella cringed again at her name, but the boys didn’t seem to notice. Mike’s eyes were on the hand that rested at my arm, analyzing the closeness between Bella and me. If it had been Angela, perhaps he wouldn’t have been so hooked up on it. But it was me, so obviously he had to dig too deep. The awkward shuffling betrayed his uncomfortableness with our proximity, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying anything. 

Thankfully Eric piped up instead, “Hey, guys! Wanna sit with us? Jessica has something she wants to gossip about, has to do with the Cullens or something.” He hooked his arm around me to tug us along, and I instinctively grabbed hold of Bella’s hand to keep her close because I was  _ not _ about to let her weasel out of this one.

Bella scurried after me with Mike at her heels. He was droning on about some cool movie that he obviously wanted to see with her, but she was caught up taking in the surroundings of the cafeteria. It was amusing and a bit sad, really, seeing him talk so animatedly to no one. For a moment I paused. Was I being too harsh on Mike? He tried unsuccessfully to pull our hands apart by offering Bella his for a handshake, and I snorted on instinct. Nope, not at all.

Jessica and Angela were already sitting down at their usual table, and the former perked up when she saw us. “Hurry and get your trays! I can wait, go go!”

“Bella, do you want me to show you how to get lunch or-”

Eric interrupted me, “Nah, I got Bella, right?” He slid an arm across her shoulders, and how he didn’t see her tense up was beyond me. Mike glowered at the move, already possessive of the new girl, it seemed.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and gulped, “I’d, um...actually prefer if Gabe showed me.” Her dark eyes were practically pleading with me. “Gabe?”

“Say no more, so long as I get to pick off of your plate.” I unceremoniously pulled her away from Eric and walked with her into the line. It wasn’t so long yet, but I planned on saving my own trek for later. There was a large part of me that was all too happy to get her away from the table, at least the boys. When we were out of earshot, I gave a rueful smirk, “You’re  _ definitely _ the shiny new toy.”

“I know, it’s  _ awful _ ,” she groaned, grabbing a tray, “Why can’t they just leave me alone?! And then the way Mike  _ looks  _ at you like you’re-” She cursed under breath and ran a hand through her hair. “I can’t stand it.”

“Aw, is someone getting protective?”

“Yeah, I am! I swear if he says anything to you, I’ll give him what for.”

I gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and offered a warm smile, “I know. You’ll kick ass.” Her desire to protect me really touched my heart. I never had to doubt that Bella was in my corner for anything, and it made me emotional just thinking about it. I blinked a few times and thankfully didn’t have to search long for a distraction. She’d tugged at my arm to pull me along the moving line. I helped her pick out what she wanted, paid for it before she could, and led her back to the table.

By the time we got back, Jessica was going on about how Edward Cullen had turned her down before lunch. I can’t say I expected much depth after hearing that the Cullens were the topic of her conversation, but she could’ve saved herself the energy instead of getting theatrical about her misery. She fanned herself to keep from getting too worked up about it and even leaned against Mike for support. I couldn’t find it in myself to pity her this time. Normally I would, maybe even offer her some semblance of support, but her rant about Edward snowballed into a tangent about the Cullens in general. “And they all  _ live _ together! How is that okay?!”

“Maybe we just don’t know their circumstances?” Angela read the indignant look on my face and played devil’s advocate.

“Yeah, but like, it’s  _ weird _ right?” Jessica’s eyes darted around the table to meet ours, but she so obviously avoided mine. She didn’t want to face the music because she knew I was friends with Alice.

I nabbed a carrot from Bella’s untouched vegetables and pointed it at Jessica. “Just because Edward turned  _ you _ down doesn’t mean you have to condemn them like that, Jessica. They’re not weird, they’re just different,” I narrowed my eyes at her as I spoke. Her cheeks turned red, and she looked ready to burst when she failed to come up with a witty response.

“But it isn’t really  _ normal _ around here to... _ do _ what they’re doing, Gabe...”

I snorted, “Who died and made you King of Normalcy, Mike?”

“And what would  _ you _ know about normal?! You’re a d--”

Bella interrupted Mike, “Hey, don’t be an ass, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” he brushed the comment off, and I felt a surge of vexation in my chest. 

But Bella continued before I could tear him a new one. “No, Mike. That wasn’t okay  _ at all _ .”

He began to say something smart, but one look from Bella left him rethinking his reply. With a sigh, he nodded, offering her an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry Bella. Didn’t mean to offend.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Gabe.”

Mike leaned past Bella to look at me, but he hesitated. When he opened his mouth, I took that as my opportunity to stand. “Save your apology, Newton,” I grumbled, “I know you don’t mean it.” Before he could continue, I turned and made my way to the lunch line. I was about to put in my earbuds and drown out Donny and Jared Page hooting and laughing in front of me, but light tapping on my shoulder stopped me. 

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I spun around to face the person behind me. “No, you’re not gonna cut-” But I stopped when I came face to face with a familiar set of golden eyes.

“You sure? I bet I could persuade you to let me,” Alice giggled, flashing her pearly white teeth. 

My frustration with Jessica and Mike melted away at the sight of her smile. It was as if she’d cast some spell or charm that made it near impossible to hold a heavy heart in her presence. I bet she was a witch or something in a past life, but a nice one because I couldn’t ever see her cursing anybody.

“And I’d never bet against you,” I said as I stepped aside and motioned ahead of me in line. “Madam?”

With a grateful nod, she slipped in front of me, and I got a whiff of her perfume as she passed. 

“Everything okay with you and Mike?”

Admittedly I hadn’t been paying attention to what she’d said. I was too busy trying to name what she smelled like. Berries? Frost? “Hmm?”

“He’s looking at you like you kicked his dog,” she couldn’t help but snicker as she said it, tilting her chin in the direction I’d come from. I followed her gaze just in time to see Mike look down at his tray. Angela, bless her heart, mouthed an apology on Mike’s behalf, to which I nodded, smiled to show I appreciate the sentiment, and made a mental note to talk to Mike later.

I shrugged, “He’s eating his own words.” She smiled but fell quiet as the line inched forward. The silence wasn’t concerning, though I was a bit bummed that I’d missed out on a quality one-liner. She grabbed a small sandwich and an apple; it was her normal selection, but most of the time she’d give the sandwich to me. Earlier in the year, I’d noticed that she and her siblings didn’t seem to eat much at all, if ever. When I inquired, she’d said they were on some sort of “special diet.”  _ “At this point, I’m really only buying the sandwich for you, honey. You seem to want it more than I do,” _ she’d laughed. The subject hadn’t been broached since.

She spoke up again once we’d exited the line. “Thank you, Gabe, for what you said.”

“What’d I say?”

“You stood up for my family.”

We’d stopped walking to face each other, and the sincerity in her eyes made me blush.  _ Dammit _ . “Oh, you heard that?”

“When I was passing by, but, yes,” she nodded, “it means a lot that you’d do that.”

I shrugged, praying no one else could notice my burning ears, “It was nothing, I mean, any decent person would-”

“No, Gabe, it wasn’t  _ nothing _ ,” her smile cushioned the correction, “and not just anyone would’ve done that. Just you.” She placed the sandwich on my tray before leaning in close to whisper, “You’re special, honey. Don’t think that goes unnoticed.” Her proximity left shivers up my spine, and the chaste kiss she placed on my cheek sent tingles down my neck. Each spark was foreign, overwhelming in all the right ways. The sensation rendered my limbs pathetically useless, so much so that I’d nearly dropped my tray. My feeble attempts to cover the fumble failed because she was laughing when I looked to her again.

‘ _ God, I’d do anything to make her laugh again… _ ’

Well,  _ hello _ , new revelation. Just barge right in! Make yourself comfortable, I guess.

When I came to, I’d only heard the latter half of what she’d said, “...seem worried about you.”

“Huh?” 

Her quizzical smirk served as a gentle reprimand. ‘ _ Pay attention, Gabe! _ ’ “I said I’ll let you go back to your friends. I think Jessica and Mike are worried I’ll eat you alive.”

For a moment I wondered if that would be such a bad thing. With her words ringing in my ears, I begrudgingly said farewell and trudged back to my friends and Mike’s half-assed apologies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter! I promise there'll be more Alice next chapter. I'll also be sure to update much quicker ^^ If you have a moment, please do tell me what you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have a good one!


	3. Some Kind of Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! This chapter is a bit shorter, but it's more Alice and Gabe heavy with a few appearances from our favorite vampire family. Hope you all enjoy! The next chapter will definitely be longer.

The rest of lunch went as follows: Mike apologizing profusely, me accepting it so he’d shut up, Bella making sure he knew she and I were a package deal, and me obsessing over my moment with Alice. Bella piping up had been the only part of their conversation that I paid attention to. My thoughts occupied me for most of lunch. That kiss replayed in slow motion over and over before me until I had noticed every little facet and nuance. The way her hand caressed my arm, how she stood on her tiptoes to reach my face. How those little sparks spread like wildfire when her lips pressed to my cheek, how her eyes met mine and for a moment everything felt  _ right _ …

That last thought lingered in my head for what felt like forever. It was another strange and intimidating revelation, much like the profound desire to make her laugh. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but the heavy thud of my heart felt like some far-off premonition.

What did it mean? I was too apprehensive to look into why my heart gave that thud, why my hands began shaking, or why my throat had gone dry. And  _ why _ was I nervous? Where did the unease stem from? When did everything stop making sense?!

I felt those tingles at my neck again, and my head shot up so quick I nearly gave myself whiplash. It took a mere second to find Alice; she sat with her siblings at the far end of the cafeteria, our tables separated by throngs of faceless students. The apple on her tray remained completely untouched along with the rest of their food. Why did they buy food if they were on a special diet?

Her perfect eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly in silent question, head tilting to the side.  _ ‘Are you okay?’ _ Concern seemed to dart across her face, just enough for me to notice, and there was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Guilt? I nodded to show that I was some semblance of fine, but I doubt she believed it. Alice always had a good read on how I was feeling, so much so that her accuracy was eerie. Maybe she could read my mind and see the panic?

Edward glanced up from his tray, dark eyes darting between Alice and myself, and leaned in close to whisper to her. They shared a hushed conversation before Alice turned her attention to another family member, Jasper Hale. Jasper was one half of the Hale twins and the one Cullen I saw the least of. He seemed polite, if a bit uptight, from the few greetings we shared, however his aloof nature made it difficult to get a bead on what he was like. There was entirely too much noise to make out their conversation, but it seemed a bit tense from the admonishing look she gave him. He held his glower for a few moments, caved, and let her place her discarded tray atop his. Edward followed suit and merely grinned at Jasper’s side eye. 

The Hale twins rose in sync but took off in different directions. Rosalie left the cafeteria with a roll of her eyes while Jasper wordlessly passed by my table to dispose of their trays.

In that moment the questions that wracked my brain quieted, even disappeared. Stress rolled off my shoulders in waves, replaced by a sweeping calm. There seemed no use in fussing about the situation because I wasn’t familiar with all of the pieces. It was a five-hundred piece puzzle, of which I only had one corner complete. A stray laugh left my lips once I realized how silly my worrying had been. I felt Bella’s gaze on me, but I didn’t trust myself to not blurt out my current dilemma. She let it be, though knowing her it wouldn’t be long before she asked.

The last few minutes of lunch were spent shuffling through a crowd of students in my hurry to get to calculus. Math was a subject I was fond of in its entirety. There was no guesswork, no hesitation. Numbers didn’t require a thesis statement or supporting clause. There was no rebuttal concerning mathematics, and Kelly routinely teased me for calling it my favorite subject.

As I climbed the steps to Building 5, the anxiety crept it’s way past my mental barriers and tainted the ease I briefly entertained. I balked in the doorway and only saw fit to move when the door hit me on its way closed. The pervasive thoughts hammered away with wild abandon, dredging up the questions I’d been obsessing over. Why did my body react so strongly to Alice? And why was this all coming to a head  _ now _ ? I missed that tranquility from lunch more than ever as I rounded that final corner.

The last of my classmates were filing in, but Alice waited patiently for me by the door. She leaned languidly against the painted wall like some sort of model out of a mock high school photoshoot. Her gaze lifted from her phone to meet mine, and my heart gave another heavy thud. As my feet brought me closer, the nerves and anxiety seemed to melt away under her warm smile. There was an unmistakable comfort with her, an ease that I hadn’t noticed before.

“Hey there,” she mused, pushing off the wall to further close the gap between us, “need a pencil?” She produced a blue mechanical pencil, and I couldn’t help but snort.

“Every time? You’re gonna ask me every time we have calc, huh?”

“Of course. Own your brand, honey.”

The pencil thing had transpired at the beginning of the school year. I’d forgotten my pencil case the day of our pre-test, and the only kind face who had an extra one was Alice. 

_ “Would you happen to have a pencil?” I implored. My panic levels had risen with each decline, and it seemed this tiny dancer was my only hope. _

_ She grinned , stunning me for just a moment, and tilted her head to the side, “You’re just in luck!” In her outstretched hand was a blue mechanical pencil. I eagerly thanked her and went to grab it, but she’d pulled it away before I could.  _

_ “Ah,” she said, a playful glint in her eyes, “I’d like to know the name of the soul leasing my prized pencil.” _

_ My ears burned with sheepishness, and from behind a shy smile I replied, “I’m Gabe. And you are?” _

_ “I’m Alice Cullen,” she handed over the pencil and hooked an arm around mine. The sudden act took me off guard, but there was something so endearing about her that the feeling was gone as soon as it arrived. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” _

Months later, she handed me a blue pencil before every math class without fail. It was our little inside joke, something for just the two of us, and though I was quickly running out of space for all of these uniform pencils, the sentiment spoke for itself. I took the pencil from her, and she slipped her arms around one of mine. Sparks jolted through my veins, rendering my arm delightfully numb. The initial shock caused me pause. As much as I hoped she hadn’t noticed, I could see the curious look in her eye. My heart leapt into my throat under her scrutiny, but I maintained a cool exterior as we sat at our table. 

The class was reviewing for a test, so those that were ready  _ technically  _ didn’t have to participate. It was easy enough for the two of us to drown everything out while we talked. 

“ _ Please _ tell me that your weekend was more interesting than mine,” she sighed dramatically while crossing an ‘ _ X _ ’ and winning her sixth match of tic-tac-toe. “I didn’t get to go shopping  _ at all _ because Rosalie had me helping her with her car.”

“Well shit,” I grumbled. Alice was six for six, and I was starting to lose hope in ever gaining any ground at this game. Was I that obvious with my moves? I tried shaking things up to surprise her, but she thwarted every strategy I could come up with. I flipped over the piece of paper as I answered, “Bella got here on Sunday, and we had dinner! That was pretty great.”

Alice slipped the paper from my hand. Our fingers brushed, and I flinched at the cold, shocking sensation. She lifted her gaze from the perfect lines she was drawing to gauge my reaction. Her dark eyes searched mine for something, anything, but in a flash her smile returned, “Right! How’s it been to have her back?”

“It’s been awesome,” I hummed, “In a way it feels as if nothing’s changed, even though so much has.” Conversation ebbed and flowed naturally between us. Each lull felt warm and wanted. I spoke about how having Bella back felt like old times, then Alice went on about how she hated fixing up Rosalie’s car. As serious as her distaste for mechanics was, the way her face scrunched up was adorable.

“Do I  _ look _ like a mechanic?!” She turned her body to face me, daring me to tell her yes. 

My eyes darted from her eyes to her lips to the length of her neck, down her lithe body… Air caught in my throat as I made my way back up, only to swear her eyes darkened further upon meeting them again. “No,” I choked out. My heart sputtered into a race under her gaze, and the need for a change in subject was suffocating. “Did your eyes get darker?”

She seemed to tense at the question. Her countenance fell to neutral as she turned her face to our current game. She was ten for ten now. I missed her cute expression. “Outside of working on Rosalie’s car, I spent some time out in the sun. Maybe it made my eyes darker?” she smirked, batting her eyelashes at me for emphasis, “Or maybe I’m wearing lighter clothing, and you’re just seeing things?”

“I dunno,” I didn’t buy it. The tease that rolled off my tongue came with a pause. I got caught staring into her eyes and only continued when she nudged my knee with hers. “I think I’d know your eyes well enough to notice that.”

“Gabriel Chapman, are you insinuating that you enjoy staring lovingly into my eyes?”

A sudden surge of confidence played at my lips, urging me to meet her gaze head on. “And what if I am?”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth and gave me a once over. When she was satisfied, Alice replied, “Then I’d say you have excellent taste.”

“Naturally.” 

We fell into more comfortable silence while I continued to get my ass handed to me. She was twelve for twelve when I finally piped up.

“Damn, why do I play this game with you? I always lose!”

Alice laughed, and I briefly got lost in the sound. “Maybe it’s just not your day, honey?”

I scoffed, “No, we do this so many times, and I’ve never won, not once. It’s like your superpower or something…”

“My  _ superpower _ is smoking you at tic-tac-toe?”

“No, you know all of my moves before I even make them!” I tossed my pencil down on the table before us then leaned in to narrow my eyes at her. “Are you a mind reader?”

The smirk she wore grew into a full grin, and her eyes shined with an inside joke I wasn’t privy to. “I wish I was,” she chuckled. She scribbled another ‘ _ X _ ’, crossed out her line of three, and muttered under her breath, “...it’d make everything a lot easier.”

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but I suddenly remembered my brief conversation with Emmett. My hands shook with returning nerves, so I distracted them by drawing idle circles at the corner of the page between us. “So,” I drawled out, “y’know how Emmett saved me today?”

“Mhm,” she hummed, working her jaw. She glanced up at me, and I could see the brief flash of anger in her eyes. Alice understandably detested Matt and his lackeys; today didn’t help their relations- or lack thereof. At the start of class, she’d been furious, so this was something of an improvement.

“He said that I’m your favorite. Is that true?”

“Of course it is,” she answered immediately. Her smile grew incredulous, as if she couldn’t believe I would doubt it. “Why wouldn’t you be?”

She had me there. I couldn’t exactly give her an answer because I had no real reason to doubt her. Alice never hung out with anyone aside from her siblings and myself. The doubt that strangled me earlier seemed nonexistent now as I gave a bashful reply, “I dunno… I guess I didn’t want to assume?”

“Allow me to fix that for you.” She turned in her chair so that she faced me, cupped my face in her hands, and locked eyes with me. The tingling sensation was so strong that it made my breath hitch. Her thumbs brushed under my eyes and soothed my racing heart. She was  _ so _ close, so very close; so close that my brain fogged over, coated by that heavenly scent of hers. Reason ceased function in that moment, and I was at her beck and call, helplessly eager to do as she asked.

“Gabe,” she began sweetly, “ _ always _ assume that you’re my favorite. There won’t ever be anyone else who could come close to taking your place. Okay?”

I nodded quickly, “Okay.” The tingles compounded into a warm numbness that further clouded my mind. It was a high unlike any other. I didn’t want it to end.

“Would you like to come over after school?” The words left my lips of their own volition while the ache in my chest gave another dull thud. 

Her hands left my face as she contemplated her answer, and I immediately felt cold. The desire to pull her back to me was near overwhelming, so much so that I had to lean back and take a deep breath to center myself. While I collected my thoughts, the cloud shattered, and the barrage of nerves flooded every sinew, every crack and crevice of my brain. Every sensation, every seize or thud of my heart left me reeling. 

“Well,” she tilted her head to the side, pretending to give it thought, “I’ll have to check my schedule, but I’m sure I could squeeze you in. What time should I come by?” Her words were the only things that could pull me from my fretting. The worries fell to the wayside, mere whispers in the presence of her voice. 

“Whenever you’d like. You know you’re always welcome.”

“How about right after school?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Then it’s a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all liked it! Thank you for reading <3 be sure to comment and let me know what you think. I love hearing back from you guys.


	4. Somehow Shifted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I really enjoyed exploring more of Alice and Gabe's relationship and how Gave feels about everything. Thanks for sticking with me. Cheers!  
> Please don't be shy about commenting! I'd love to hear from you guys <3

I’d never felt more self-conscious about driving than when I drove Alice to my house later that afternoon. She took control of the aux, and the sounds of her bassy, upbeat pop flooded the car. I didn’t recognize any of the tunes and didn’t bother trying to name artists. I was perfectly content listening to her sing and put them to shame. Her enchanting voice reached at least three octaves higher than most of the singers, and her harmonies were so beyond perfect it almost broke my heart.

I would’ve been more entranced had I not known her singing and dancing was a way to ignore my “slow driving,” as she’d put it.

“You really think my driving is that bad?”

“I didn’t say it was bad,” she crooned, pausing just long enough in her singing to answer me. “You simply drive much slower than I do.”

“Alice, I drive the speed limit.”

“Precisely. If  _ I _ was driving, we’d be at your place by now.”

I snickered, “Or in a ditch.”

She scoffed at the slight and reached a delicate hand to swat at my shoulder. “I  _ never _ crash! Your lack of faith in me is astounding.”

I’d opened my mouth to reply, but she cranked Janelle Monáe and effectively drowned me out. It was “Make Me Feel,” one of the few songs on Alice’s playlist that I recognized. Alice sang it at the original pitch, making eye contact with me whenever I’d glance over. There was a moment during that song where I nearly rear-ended the car in front of me, and the panic on my face made her laugh. 

“You are so  _ distracting _ !” My nerves came out in the form of laughter, and I gripped the steering wheel tight enough to make my knuckles turn pale.

“Oh, it’s my fault? I can’t help that you find me so alluring.”

The breath I didn’t know I was holding left in a relieved huff when I parked in the driveway. She and I quickly ducked inside and made ourselves comfortable, taking up post at the living room coffee table. We spread our school books out before us, and in an hour I had something of an outline for my English essay.

“You’re definitely better at this English stuff than I am,” the words came out in a grumble as I tossed my copy of  _ The Great Gatsby _ aside. “Why can’t I just enjoy books anymore?”

I heard her laugh and saw her lips began to move, but it’s as if the words dodged my ears and dissipated further into the house. My mind became hyper aware of how her leg rested flush against mine. The cold seeping through her clothing was comforting and complemented this new sensation delightfully. 

Alice could’ve had the entire rest of the couch to herself, yet here she was, pressed up against me as if there was no space to be had. I briefly noted it as something to tease her about later, tucking it aside for the perfect opportunity. It occurred to me then just how often we shared physical contact. Constantly brushing up and leaning against each other, holding hands at dinner, Alice linking her arms around mine as we walked into math class… Certainly it couldn’t be coincidence. The more I contemplated it, the more I found solace in our shared touch. It felt  _ right _ , natural in some way beyond comprehension. So much about her just felt right- there seemed no other word that could do her justice-, and I’d yet to put my finger on a reason why. In the meantime, I’d grown accustomed to the comfort her presence allowed; I let out a chuckle at the irony of feeling cold when she left.

“What’s so funny?” She piped up from beside me. 

Her words brought me from my obsessive thoughts, and I met her eyes with a smile, “Nothing. You just never cease to amuse me.”

“ _ Speaking _ of amusing…” She drawled out. A devilish smirk spread across her face as she locked her phone and shifted her body to face me. Her legs crossed against mine, knees resting atop my thigh, and propped her chin into her hands.

“Tell me about this dream of yours. I’ve been dying to hear about it.”

_ Fuck. _

To be fair, I knew I shouldn’t have been surprised. This  _ was _ Alice Cullen. Nothing ever got past her without her knowing about it, so it wasn’t a shock when she brought up the dream I so hoped she’d forget. It was as if she sensed my dread because because then she circled a halo just above her head. An angel. An angel who lounged with me on my couch, unaware of the unholy dream I’d had about her last night.

“Uh…” I wallowed once, twice, three times before I felt ready to answer. My gaze averted to the books on the table, briefly distracting my thoughts with equations and hyperboles. “We were in class. You were, um… You were teaching me anatomy…”

_ “ _ Gabe _ ,” her voice cooed in my ear, “do you know the answer to the next question?” _

_ Those lips, smooth and soft as ever, trailed a line of frozen kisses down my neck, pausing at my pulse. Her mouth rested there to  curl against my skin. “What’s the matter, silly?” She pulled her hand from my pants, brought it to her lips, and licked her fingers clean. “Cat got your tongue?” _

“Anatomy?” Her voice brought me back to the present, to reality, and I turned to meet her incredulous grin. “In math class?”

Her skepticism made me nervous, made me worry that she could see my heart beating out of my chest. It seemed seconds from bursting. I tucked my hands between my legs and crossed one over the other to keep from grabbing something,  _ anything _ . If I started fidgeting, she’d know I was telling a half-truth. She’d know I was hiding the dream for what it was.

“Mhmm,” was my simple reply.

Her brow raised. I made the careless mistake of turning my gaze because I could feel her growing interest,  _ sense _ the buzzing curiosity that followed.

Curiosity at my expense, no less.

“I see…” Her hand flew to my shoulder and pushed me backward against the couch as she asked, “What kind of anatomy?”

The dream flashed before my eyes. Clawing hands, exposed necks, broken cries of pleasure and hushed curses. My name left her lips, and it felt like heaven.  _ She _ tasted like heaven.

_“Oh, Gabriel…”_ _She gazed up at me from under her lashes, red eyes capturing my very soul. She rose from her knees gracefully, licking at her lips, flashing those pearly white teeth. Her lips were on mine before I could respond, hands grabbing roughly at my remaining clothes. I tasted myself on her tongue. “So naive, so  oblivious. So_ tempting _…”_

I realized our proximity late and spluttered, body tensing in reaction. Her face was inches from mine, looming over me as if it was some unexpected and impromptu sequel to the dream. I sat in stunned silence as she spoke. However, all I could focus on were her eyes. They were  _ black _ , a stark difference to the unnerving red from my dream. 

All I could process was her. Her closeness. Her perfect features, the subtle curve of her bottom lip, her long eyelashes. Her mind-numbing scent. Berries, frost, and...something uniquely  _ Alice _ that I couldn’t conjure. The edges of my vision blurred around her face. My breathing spiked, and my face felt hot under her gaze. It felt as if she was looking right through me, straight to the truth I tried to bury along with my shame.

“Um...human anatomy?” My voice came out in a pitiful squeak that made her laugh. Music to my ears.

She lingered there before me for one, two, maybe three more seconds before chuckling, “Curiouser and curiouser…”

With that, the subject was promptly dropped. She gave that devious grin of hers, winked, and leaned away to resume scrolling aimlessly on her phone. The grip her allure had on my mind dissipated, and with my first shuddering breath I could smell as her scent faded. I had to stop my body from leaning forward in its attempt to capture it,  _ just _ a moment longer to decipher what that last note was… 

The tension in the air dissolved,  _ slowly _ but surely, yet the energy wasn’t the same, never  _ would _ be the same. A sinking feeling in my gut warned me of some impending shift that I no doubt wouldn’t be ready for. Just the thought alone sent a chill streaking down my back.

When I began to shiver, Alice looked up with concern marring her beautiful features. Her eyebrows knit together just slightly, and those expressive eyes pierced right through to the very core of me.

_ ‘And I allowed it,’ _ humoring the idea that I’d had any remnants of a choice left. What was fate if not a set path? 

She was set in my future. Of that much, I was certain. It seemed the only sure thing about today. Everything was so off kilter, shifted in some way I’d yet to name.

“Cold?” Alice shifted once more, removing the contact I’ve come to enjoy, perhaps even rely on. I’d grown acclimated to her at-first-alarmingly low body temperature and smooth, marble-like skin. The lack of  _ Alice _ pressed up against my side left me feeling chillier than I had been. “Want me to get you a blanket?”

It wasn’t exactly  _ fear _ , and it wasn’t exactly  _ panic _ that made my heart drop into my gut, nor was it quite  _ dread _ . But it was enough for me to grab hold of her wrist and shout, “ _ No! _ ” 

She seemed as stunned as I, our eyes locked together, trying to communicate on frequencies  _ just _ different enough to come up futile. 

“Stay,” it was barely a whisper, but it shattered the silence that had encroached on our space. The five letters weighed more than I anticipated, but the jolt of suffocating desperation left little in the way of doubt. I  _ meant _ each ounce, each pound. Even if I didn’t realize just how much. I just... _ needed _ her here, with me. “Please.”

Her eyes fluttered with the sudden contact, and for just a breath I entertained the foolish notion that she felt those sparks, too. The corners of her lips pulled back into that familiar, warm smile as she murmured, “Okay. I’ll stay.”

* * *

 

“Do you have a shirt I could wear?”

I glanced up from my laptop to smirk, “Since when do you want to wear my clothes?” 

“Since I decided to have an impromptu sleepover with you,” she quipped as she rose from my bed. Her tiny frame skipped to my dresser and began nosily sifting through its contents. 

Alice had quite the eye for fashion. There wasn’t a model alive that could outdo her. She never wore the same thing twice and had a knack for roping me into being her guinea pig. I didn’t mind much because it made her happy, and I got free clothes out of it. 

She pulled an old t-shirt from the top drawer, looked it over with an abundance of scrutiny, then turned it to hold it against herself. “Go, Beavers! What do you think?” 

It was a dark grey top I’d gotten during my brief stay at Ballard High School. The mascot symbol had faded some, along with the lettering around it, but the memories were clear  as day. There was something bittersweet about such a tainted piece of clothing resting in the arms of someone so dear. On one hand, it was the shirt I wore the day I was outed. On the other, it was almost as if Alice’s positive energy consumed the negative and rendered it null and void. I stared at the shirt with no resentment for the first time because behind it, Alice’s smile made the sun look dark, made the ghosts of the past turn and flee. It was breathtaking, really.  _ She _ was breathtaking.

“You’re perfect,” came my whispered response. The weight of the words didn’t sink in until her expression began to soften. Heat scorched my face, lapped its way down my neck, and nestled in my chest where it burned with searing embarrassment. Howling ridicule rang in my ears before she spoke, her voice piercing the din. 

“You’re adorable when you get flustered, honey,” she mused, skipping forward and briefly cupping my chin. “But it takes perfect to know perfect.”

“Oh, please, I’m not—“ She grabbed the hem of her blouse and pulled it over her head in one languid motion, and I swore I nearly swallowed my tongue. No model or goddess could compare to the tease of her hips just peeking over designer black pants; to the way her pale skin smoothed over tantalizing abs; to the way that lace bra cupped her chest so...

I tore my eyes away from her to give her some privacy, mostly to give my mind a reprieve from the staggering confusion. Alice had changed in front of me countless times. Sure, I gawked at how gorgeous she was, but never had I ever had such a visceral response. The image danced behind closed eyelids and played against the darkened laptop screen when I opened my eyes. I could see Alice’s back in the monitor, how she pulled my shirt over her head, how her shoulders rolled with little effort. I slammed my laptop shut to preserve my diminishing sanity and counted to ten before turning around. 

_ One. Two. Three. Four. Five… Six. Seven. Eight. Nine… _

“I’d  _ never _ wear this out, but it’s comfortable!”

_ Ten. _

When I looked to Alice again, she was fully clothed- to my relief. She brought the collar to her nose, took a deep breath, and gave a contented sighed, “It smells like you.” 

I’d opened my mouth to respond, but seeing Alice in my clothes left me stammering. “Uh…” A powerful wave of something akin to  _ possession _ shuddered its way into my chest. The sight of her in my clothes reignited the panic I’d just smothered, but this time I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. 

“I-I’d hope so…”

She giggled, rolled her eyes, and turned to the mirror above my dresser once more. “Y’know,” she began, “it’s not the most  _ unflattering _ t-shirt you have. It’s a little big...”

Finally I found my voice, “I  _ am _ quite a bit taller than you, Alice.”

“You don’t have to rub it in!” She stuck her tongue out at me before giving a satisfactory twirl and gliding over to my bed. “Ready for bed?”

I rose with a quiet nod and joined her on the bed, lowering myself down onto the edge to kick off my slippers. “Did you know I used to hate that shirt?”

An odd question to ask, I realized too late. When I turned to look at her, her jaw flexed, contrasting the soft sullenness in her eyes. “I believe you’ve mentioned it once, yes.” She seemed to deliberate on something before she grabbed at the tee. 

“Should I take it off?” She’d already begun pulling it upward, regret lacing the notoriously coquettish lilt she carried. “If it bothers you, I can—“

“No, it—“ My hand flew to cover hers. Partially to simply stop her, partially because I doubted I could survive her disrobing so close to me. I heaved another sigh and laughed as I continued, “No, Al, it doesn’t bother me. Actually it… Seeing you wear that shirt? It helps, more than you know.”

Alice visibly relaxed, allowing her shoulders to fall, and turned her wrist to grab hold of my hand. She cradled it close, the idea of disrobing abandoned for the moment as she traced the lines on my palm with gentle curiosity. “I’m glad I could help,” she finally smiled up at me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

A playful glint flashed in her dark eyes. “It’s because I make anything look cute, isn’t it?”

My laughter only spurred her on, “You’ve said it yourself! Are you going back on your word, Ms. Chapman?”

“Gabe.  _ Never _ Ms. Chapman,” I wrinkled my nose at the formality, “ _ Kelly _ is Ms. Chapman. That’s responsibility I’m not ready for.”

“Whatever you say, honey!” Alice laid back on the bed and promptly opened her arms for me, batting those long eyelashes. “Now c’mere before I fall asleep without you.”

I gave a snort and a roll of my eyes but did as I was told. Who was I to deny her? “Now  _ that _ is a crime.” 

My head hit the softness of an awaiting pillow, then I nestled closer, shivering as her cold arms embraced me. “God, Alice,” I chuckled, subduing my chattering teeth, “why are you always so  _ cold _ ? You’d think all this physical contact would’ve warmed you up by now.”

She hummed in acknowledgement while pulling up the blanket. “Maybe I’m just not holding you enough?” The whispered words tickled my ear and sent my heart racing into my throat. She began tucking the blanket between our bodies, but something about the separation bothered me. No, it wouldn’t do. I lifted my head from the crook in her neck to pull the comforter taught and inch impossibly closer. The sparking sensation compounded immeasurably now that our bodies were flush against one another. My breath hitched with the overwhelming feeling, toes curling as our legs tangled together. Her grip on me tightened just so.

“If I’m going to warm you up, I should at least have direct contact,” I muttered before laying my head down again. Basking in the tingles, her scent clouded my senses yet kept me rooted in the moment with her.

“At least?” 

_ Bloody hell _ . “I mean,” my ears burned as I fumbled with my response, “there are more direct ways to, uh, warm somebody up…”

“Oh?” I could hear the amusement in her voice, “Like what?”

“You’re killing me, Alice.”

“It’ll be a sweet death, honey, I promise.” She punctuated her sentence with a kiss to my head, and I forgot how to breathe. The kiss elicited a flutter from my thudding heart. My brain turned to mush, every thought abandoned at once as the feeling of her lips coated every crevice of my mind and seared its way into my memory.

The mindlessness gave rise to a sudden surge of irritation that threatened to explode. Alice had kissed my head and face more times than I could count. Why should  _ this _ instance be any different from the ones before? It bothered me, the uncertainty and confusion of it all. From the moment Alice wriggled her way into my life, I was certain of her. She was a constant, crystal clear in whatever semblance of future I could envision. Because now my body was reacting so viscerally to the slightest touch, the faintest brushing of skin to chilly skin, I was hopeless to make heads or tails of the situation. I couldn’t place why I suddenly felt sparks whenever we touched or why they felt so inconceivably good, so  _ beyond _ delightful that words paled in comparison to how intoxicating they truly were. I was helpless to entertain her proximity; it was as if everything else paled in comparison to her. Nothing else mattered. Her scent, the sight of her, the  _ feel _ of her was all-encompassing, and I was defenseless against it. But  _ why _ ?!

My thoughts snapped back with such staggering force that it left me reeling. I jolted away from Alice to collect my frazzled puzzle pieces, screwing my eyes shut and taking deep breaths to try and center myself. When I opened my eyes, they sought hers like a moth to a flame. In the dim light, her eyes appeared black as pitch, an endless void of emotions I couldn’t discern. Somehow I made out what seemed to be concern in those dark pools, and the anxious expression she donned made my  heart seize.

“What’s going on up there?” She whispered. Her fingers began playing at the nape of my neck, and suddenly the weight of all of my worries seemed to vanish into thin air. Each brush coaxed the thoughts away like some sort of magic beyond my tired mind’s comprehension. The sweet lure of slumber called to me just as exhaustion hit me like a truck. 

I sighed and nuzzled my face into her neck once more, whimpering with how desperately sleep clawed at my eyes. “I’m so tired.”

“Then go to sleep, honey. I’ll be here,” she noticed the way my fingers pulled at her shirt and held me a little tighter. 

It was all too easy to let sleep wash over me. Her presence and motions kept the world and the obsessive thoughts away, a peace I didn’t know I needed, if just for the night.

I was pulled from my slumber when I felt a weight shift from beside me. Cold hands began nudging my arms from around a slender waist, and a chuckle broke the quiet when I tried clinging on tighter. 

“Alice?” I mumbled, hiding my face in her neck in a weak attempt to keep her near me. “Where are you going?”

Alice’s fingers played at the nape of my neck, nearly lulling me back to sleep. The pleasant touch made it difficult to hang onto her words. “I’m just getting a midnight snack,” her lips lingered against my temple, cold and soothing. “I’ll be right back, okay?” 

“ _ No _ ,” the whine sounded more pitiful than I meant for it to. “Stay…” Those fingers trailed between my shoulder blades; the circular motion forced my arms to relax and allowed her to intertwine her free hand with mine. 

She placed a kiss to the back of my hand then one to my head when I tried to pull myself closer. “I’ll be back  before you know it, honey. Just a few moments is all I need.”

I’m sure she sensed the waning resolve in my silence. The battle between sleep and holding her close was one I was quickly losing, as with one last kiss to my head, she was able to slip from my grasp. I didn’t hear her leave, but I received no response when I called out her name. What was a few moments without her? Surely I could manage.

But the moments stretched into an infinite, immeasurable darkness, the silence of which echoed louder with each passing second. It felt as if she was gone longer than a few moments, though my sleep-laden mind was no accurate keeper of time. For a moment I considered joining her in the kitchen, but I’d given into sleep long before her return. When I felt the bed dip and her scent curl toward my nose, I immediately sought her out, grasping at her clothes with clumsy hands. Her arms held me close while her fingers returned to my neck, coaxing me under sleep’s spell once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy! I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. The story is going to kick off a bit, as Gabe's story runs in parallel with Bella's. Should be interesting to say the least. See y'all next time!


	5. Discrepancies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabe begins to notice that things aren't quite right with Alice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! It's been a while since I've uploaded, and I'm sorry about that. Life got pretty busy, and before I knew it months had gone by! Truthfully I lost my passion for writing for a bit, but it's back! Hopefully it won't take me another handful of months to update xD  
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter! It's a bit shorter.

The next morning asserted itself entirely too quickly, and the rain drumming against my window offered little in the way of reprieve from my sleep-laden mind. Instead of facing the day head on like the champ I wished I was, I caved into my innate cowardice and pulled the blanket up over my head. This, I decided, was where I was going to remain until Jimmy Barclay woke me up.

Except Jimmy Barclay apparently took executive leave without telling anyone, so I shot up in bed after dozing off for who knows how long with nothing to greet me but the rain.

My heart set off at an erratic pace as panic seized my chest. How long had I been asleep?! What time was it? I turned my head to the clock so quickly that I gave myself whiplash. Despite my less than grievous injury, the clock read for plenty of time to get ready. Odd. My radio always woke me up in the mornings. How was I to survive my day without Barclay’s baritone jarring me from my slumber? When I examined my radio, it appeared to have been turned off. Maybe Alice did it?

“Gabe, breakfast!”

Speak of the devil.

The distant smell of bacon proved invaluable for getting me up and out of bed. I was squeaky clean by the time I skidded into the kitchen. My bag found its place by the table while I eagerly took my seat, smiling up at Alice. 

She glided about the kitchen as if she’d lived there her entire life, though by this point she might as well have been. Seems somewhere in this morning’s routine, she saw fit for a complete outfit change. 

“I thought you didn’t have any other clothes when you came over,” I commented over my glass of orange juice. 

She set a napkin down in front of me and allowed a chilly hand to rest on my shoulder for a moment before turning back to the cooking food. “I thought so too until I took a better look. If I couldn’t find this, I suppose I would’ve attempted to put something together from the better pieces in your wardrobe. I  _ never _ wear the same thing twice, you know that.”

The outfit she had on was cute enough, but was in no way suited for the rain, as was the case with most everything she wore. I had no idea how she managed to fit another pair of shoes into her bag, let alone a whole different outfit. Then again, I never claimed to understand women and their ability to stow clothes away in the tightest of spaces. Her knack for fashion was truly beyond me.

“Yeah, but you’ll catch your death of cold in that. Don’t you have a jacket?”

She laughed at that, shoulders shaking with some inside joke. “Nonsense, a jacket would just ruin it. I’ll just procure and wear a hoodie from your closet until we get within eyeshot of anyone.”

“What’s wrong with being seen in one of my hoodies?”

“Nothing if what you’re wearing was a last minute decision. I put too much thought into my outfits to be caught dead in one.” She was gracious enough to place the plate of food in front of me then, and all inclinations toward a reply left the forefront of my mind. A comment on my one-track mindedness rippled within the recesses of my grey matter, but it was gone as soon as it came.

The word of thanks had barely left my mouth before I began scarfing down food. Alice warned me about choking; however, I only saw fit to pause when I noticed that  _ she _ wasn’t eating. She’d taken her place across from me after removing Kelly’s apron. Her slender fingers tapped away at her phone while her lips pursed in thought.

“Aren’t you hungry, Alice?” 

Eyes that had darted back and forth across the phone screen met mine after a brief pause. “No, that snack from last night is tiding me over,” she gave a flippant motion of her hand. “Go ahead and eat.”

“Wait, you mean the one from, like, hours ago?” 

She nodded as if that would do anything to do curb my confusion. How couldn’t she be hungry? I’ve never had a midnight snack that tided me over till lunch. 

“But it’s breakfast. Shouldn’t you still eat something? Y’know, with it being the most important meal and all.”

“It’s fine! I couldn’t eat any of this anyway because of my diet,” her response came as rehearsed as a movie line. I’d heard it too many times to keep track of. She never went into much detail about it, just some vague excuse in regards to how complicated it was.  _ “Carlisle can explain it much better than I ever could. Simply put, I just don’t eat most things.” _ Except “most things” seemed to be anything at this point. Pizza, sandwiches, fruit, pasta, salads, chicken, now bacon and eggs? 

I lowered my fork back to my plate and settled on observing her. Skinny arms led to frail-looking shoulders; perhaps I’d never given it much thought before now, but had she always been this  _ thin _ ? It must go hand in hand with how I’ve never seen her give so much as a nibble to anything edible.

I continued inquiring with a renewed hesitation, no longer hungry. “You’ve said you’re not vegan… So what other kind of diet doesn’t let you eat eggs? They’re full of protein, and — ”

Her fingers swept across her phone screen so fast that they nearly blurred with the speed. It vibrated in the next second. “I didn’t make enough for both of us.” A clipped lie, “Please eat, Gabe.”

As much as I felt compelled to oblige, the meal piqued no interest. I shoved the plate away from myself and leaned back, settling on ruminating over the heavy knot that nestled it’s way into my chest. The tone she used stung with foreign authority. It was off.  _ Wrong _ . 

When the silence became suffocating, her gaze flickered from the plate to my face, reading me with a practiced scrutiny. I didn’t like it.

“You’re not eating.” It was a phrase that curved into a question. 

That restless knot in my chest scattered what shreds of inclination I had to respond. Instead, I met her eyes head on and shrugged.

Maybe I hadn’t noticed it before in my haste to eat, but as I watched her in that moment, it was like being slapped in the face.

_ Golden eyes. _

They practically shone with a renewed brightness, one that hadn’t been there yesterday. Black pitch had melted away into a molten honey. It contrasted the alien withdrawal radiating off of her petite frame. 

“How...How do you  _ do _ that?”

“Do what?”

“That  _ thing _ with your eyes. They were black yesterday, and now they’re — ”

Her phone buzzed loudly against the table, and before I knew it, she was up and answering, ducking into the living room to continue her hushed conversation all while abandoning ours. I’d be lying if I said the interruption didn’t sting. Distracting myself with cleaning up the table didn’t work, so I grabbed my bag and made for the door. Alice paced like a caged animal in front of the TV, a graceful one at that. She mumbled so quietly that I doubted whomever was on the other line could hear her. 

My hand stopped halfway to the doorknob while I observed. At lunch yesterday, Bella had described her as “thin in the extreme,’ and I finally  _ saw _ it. Had I been blind to what Alice was struggling with? Maybe I shouldn’t have pried? Did I upset her?

It was as if she heard my heart drop with the weight of my guilt because she looked to me then, pausing mid-stride. The smile she offered did little to quell my guilt. It didn’t reach her eyes.

Her golden eyes.

_ Something _ wouldn’t let me let that go. There was no explanation I could think of as to why they would’ve changed color. She didn’t wear contacts or glasses, and there were no fluorescents to throw the color off (though I, myself, doubted the possibility of this happening). As far as I knew, gold wasn’t a natural color in human eyes, though the Cullens all sported them — which was incredibly convenient and twice as strange, given that only Jasper and Rosalie were related. The chances of them all having the same unnatural eye color had to be slim to none...

Now that I was  _ looking _ at her, the pallor of her skin struck me as well. She was a phantom in my living room, as white as the top she wore. Even Bella had color to her cheeks, but Alice held none at all. There was no body heat to speak of. She was at a constant frigid temperature, no matter what she wore or how much of my own body heat she absorbed. Was it because of her “diet”? Was it just genetic? Poor circulation? Even still, there was no excuse I could think of as to why she’d be so far below normal body temperature.

Nothing was adding up anymore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it! As I said before, it's shorter on purpose. The next chapter will hopefully be much longer and will focus on all of the discrepancies that Gabe begins to notice. This might be the last chapter where Gabe is unaware of the Cullens' nature. Stay tuned to find out!  
> Please do comment and leave kudos if you can :D I love feedback!


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